Invitational athletics meet: Gold for Johnson and mile relay teams

Kerala’s Jinson Johnson struck gold in the men’s 800m, finishing more than six seconds ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Raed Al Jadni at the finish.

Jinson Johnson had won the 800m gold at the Asian championship last year. (File Photo)

Kerala’s Jinson Johnson, the Asian Championship 800m bronze medallist in Bhubaneswar last year, and the men’s and women’s mile relay teams struck gold at the invitational athletics meet, a test event for this year’s Asian Games, in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Jinson breezed through his race and was more than six seconds ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Raed Al Jadni at the finish.

The 4x400m relay teams also did not have to sweat much for victory and the women’s quartet, virtually a new combination which included talented sprinter Hima Das, was the lone team in the event.

Silver for Sarita

Sarita Romit Singh won a silver in women’s hammer throw and Tamil Nadu’s junior national champion K. Kamalraj took the men’s triple jump bronze but he was way behind his personal best of 16.41m.

India topped the athletics medals table with 13 golds, five silvers and four bronzes but there was some disappointment, too, with its men’s 4x100m relay team being disqualified.

• Men
• 800m: 1. Jinson Johnson (Ind) 1:47.96s. 4x100m relay: 1. Indonesia (39.07s), India (Anuroop John, Elakkiya Dasan, S. Vidyasagar, Mohammed Sadath) disqualified. 4x400m relay: 1. India (P. Kunhu Muhammed, Jithu Baby, Sumit Kumar, K. Jeevan Suresh) 3:07.06s. 3000m steeple chase: 1. R.M.S. Pushpalrumara (Sri) 8:59.70s.
• Triple jump: 1. Zhu Yaming (Chn) 16.79m, 3. K. Kamalraj (Ind) 15.73.
• Women
• 800m: 1. Yume Kitamura (Jpn) 2:06.37s. 4x100m relay: 1. Indonesia (46.42s). 4x400m relay: India (Hima Das, A. Nithya Shree, Sarita Ben Gayakwad, Sonia Baishya) 3:37.76s. 3000m steeple chase: 1. Uda Rathnayaka (Sri) 9:55.59s. High jump: 1. Wang Yang (Chn) 1.85m. Hammer throw: 1. Luo Na (Chn) 72.11m, 2. Sarita Romit Singh (Ind) 61.75. Heptathlon: 1. Yuki Yamasaki (Jpn) 5646 pts.